Evaporator.



A. B. KIRK & 0. J. HUBSON.

EVAPORATOR.

APPLICATION FILED Mmm, 1912.

1,092,796, I Patented Apr.7,1914

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

` UNITED `STATES PATENT oE-EioE.

ALLAN B. KIRK AND OL-IVER J. HOBSON,.OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE'ASSIGNMENTS, T0 FOOD PROIOUCTS CO., A CORPORATION OF OREGON.

EvAPoBA'roR.

speciagation of Letter Patent.

ratenteatapr. 7, 1h14.

Application filed August 24, 1912. Serial No. 716,865.

T0 all whom it may concern .i

Be it known that we, ALLaN B. KIRK and -OLrvan J. HoBsoN, both citizens ofl the United States, residing in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah and State of Ore'- gon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Evaporators, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to evaporator-s, or driers, for drying fruits, vegetables and the like, and more particularly to certain improvenients in the construction and arrangeotally mounted and adapted to act not only as dellectors for directing the heated air through and around the supporting trays, but which also become heated and serve as a source of radiant heat; to provide in a device of, the characterreferred to series of drying trays so mounted that they can be simultaneously tilted or rocked in either direction for the purpose' of more directly exposing the material to the radiant heat from the heated baille plates, and also for the purpose of turning or rolling the material upon the trays and for holding the Vtrays in positions best adapted to expose the fruit or other material to the circulating currents,.a s well as to assist in rdirecting said heated air currents; to provide in combination with such a device' controlling dami pers above and below the drying chambers within which the trays are placed r the pu rf pose of changing the direction of the heated air currents ,upwardlyl through said trays;

"and, in general, to provide an improved embodiment thereof, which we will now describe.-

I n the drawings, Figure 1 is. a front elevatio'n of the same with parts broken out and 'omitted in order to reduce the size ot theffigure, and to more clearly illustrate the emi'struetion and arrangement thereof; Fig. Tis an enlarged fragmentary View showing the method of tilting or rocking the supporting trays; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one unit, with part omitted and breken away to show the construction and arrangement thereof; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view showinga method of moving the baif fle plates at the sides of the supporting trays; and Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged del tail views of the mechanism for manu-ally Y tilting the trays, ta'ken on lines w, and 6-6, respectively of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the em` bodimentof the invention here shown comprises a rseries of apartments or drying chambers arranged side by side and cach adapted to receive a tier of supporting drying trays,-preferably supported on a truck which can be run in and out of the apartment as desired, as illustrated in Fig. l,

at the right hand end thereof. These drying apartments are built directly over a heating chamber, as 7,l within which is a heating apparatus, such as'aj tire box 8 and drum or hood 9, for heating the air passing\ therethrough. The smoke stack or pipe 'l0 is preferably carried from the fire box or furnace in a circuitous manner, as inlicated, in order to l'nerease the heating edium within the heating chamber 7.

Directly underneath each of the ldrying apartments, above the heat-ing chamber 7, 9

the construction is open and is provided with a series of dampers, as 11,--11, movably mounted so asl to be moved to control and direct.the infiowing hatedjair from the heating chamber. These damper plates canas partitions, as 12-12. 'Adjgcent each of said metal partitions or wallsis a tier of movably mounted baiile plates, as 13--13, Figs. 1 and 4, pivotally mounted in upright sup? porting frames 11i-14, and operatively connected togetherby means of a connecting strip 15, having downwardly crooked fingers 16, hooked into .openings 17 in the edges of said baille plates 13, Fig` 4. All of said baillev plates vcan be moved together, like" window shutters, by means of an arm or lever 18, rigidly attached' to one of said plates as shown. Said baffle plates or shutters 13 are also made of sheet metal and are preferably of graduated Widths, the widest ones being at the top of the series and the narrower ones approaching the bottom of the tier. When they are opened into horizontal positions the wider ones at the top also catch some of the upwardly rising currents of heated air within the apartment near the walls 12-12 and direct them in wardly to the trays. If theywere all-0f the same width the first or lower ones would catch the air currents and noneyould rise near the walls to be directed into the trays for drying the material adjacent the edges of said trays.v

The drying trays 19 are supported one above the other in vertical tiers in an upright frame, as 20, preferably mounted upon a truck, as 2l, whereby they can be run into and out of the drying apartments, between the series of baille- )lates 13, at will. The supporting frames or the trays are preferably made of angle irons, as indicated, F ig. 2,' and within each frame is a tilting frame composed of the base piece 20', the side pieces 29 2, which carry supporting brackets QSE-23, upon which the trays are placed. 'The tilting frame which supports the trays Within the upright frame Z0 is operated by means of a shaft 24 Whichextends through said upright frame from 'front to rear, with bearings therein, and is keyed to the tilting frame l0 by means of a key 25, whereby whenA said operating shaft 24 is rotated in either direction byA means of a handle 26, all of the trays off a series are tilted to one side or the other, hs illustrated 'in Fig. l. Y Above each heating apartment is a pivotally mounted damper plate 27, shown in dotted lines. This is adaptcdto be tilted in either direction ith the trays. The currents of heated air are therefore directed upwardly by means of the damperI plates 11-11 in the bottom of the apartment, toward one side or the other of the apartment, as most needed, and upwardly through the trays of material, the currents adjacent the side walls of the apartment being caught by the projecting baille plates and directed inwardly between the trays. These currents ment for drying matter,

'ing frame, drying of heated air, ladened with moisture from the material being dried, pass into the up-v er, roofed portion of the device, shown in ig. 3 and indicated by the reference niimeral 28. Here the moisture in. the form of vapor is permitted to escape, being lighter than the atmosphere, through the flue 29, controlled with a fguard 30, while a considerable portion o the heated air which'.

has already been used'sfdrawn downwardlyff l jin the rear of the drying apartments, 'an'izbaqk into the heat- `1 as 32, to' assist in directing the heated air 8l) upwardly, while dit the snme time said lloor a ords a dead air space below it, designated .33, which assists to conserve: the heat withinsaid heating chamber 7.

The front of eabh heating or drying apartment is provided with suitable doors, here shown to be double doors, whereby the upper, or the lower one, o each apartment can be opened separately; tion as may be necessar i desirable. c

We are aware that c a es can be made in the embodiment of th 4invention here. shown for urposes of illustration withoiit' departin fpiom the spirit thereof, and w ff do not, t particular showin here made, except as we may be limited y the hereto appended claims.

We claim: i

1. In an evaporator'f'fin combination;'= a 10e drying apartment, a source'of' ed air directed Aupwardly through --apartment,v

dempers for regulating and directing said air currents, movably mounted sheet metal baffle plates within said dryin for directin air currents'and or radiating heat, a truc adapted lto be run into and ont` of said drying apartment, tray snp orting,N devices on said truck and movable't ereon,

drying trays upon said supportingdevices, 110

and means for movino said' supporting de` vices andv trays into tilted positions, for the purposes indicated. 2. In combination with Aa drying apar with an upright supporting frame, supporting devices thereon, upon said supporting devices, means for movin movable A drying trays and operating rection.

3. In an evaporator, in combination, a drying apartment, movable damper plates for controlling inlets and outlets thereof, inovahly mounted baille opposite sides thereof for directing the heating medium, a truck provided with supporttrays movably mounted erefore, limit the invention to the apartment a truck provid` said supporting devices to tilt said trays simultaneously in either diiit plates or shutters at 12 "on said truck one above the other, and means l movin? said trays together into tilted posifor moving said trays sixnuitaneonfsiy int/o tions, or the purpose mentioned. tilted positionsG Y, i Signed at. Port-hind, Oregon, August, 16th,

4. n an evaporator, in combination, a l 19X?. is drying apartment, movablymonnted damper A] L B VIRK dates for controlling the iniets and outlets j OIJUNR IOV'QOY (hm-ooi?, silent nieta bafe pinos movabiy 'j J h mounted adcont the side Walls of Suid apartment, tying trays movably supported :if between said baiiie platen, und means for In presence (if-- G. T. Nicholls, G. A. NICHOLS. 

